Madam Prime Minister
A Life in Power and Politics
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
One of the world's leading woman politicians tells her inspiring story
At forty-one, Gro Harlem Brundtland, physician and mother of four, was appointed prime minister of Norway-the youngest person and the first woman ever to hold that office. In this refreshingly forthright memoir, Brundtland traces her unusual and meteoric career. She grew up with strong role models-her parents were active in the Norwegian resistance and involved in postwar politics. She became known as a pro-choice crusader in the seventies and entered politics as the minister of the environment. She appointed eight women to her second eighteen-member cabinet, to this day a world record, and was the leading figure in the process that led to the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. As director-general of the World Health Organization since 1997, Brundtland is the first woman elected to run a major UN institution. Along the way, she met a host of international politicians, including Margaret Thatcher-who did not share Brundtland's view on feminism-Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan, and Hillary Clinton.
Brundtland writes candidly and with humor about raising children in the political limelight and about dealing with political opposition and stereotypes about women. Hers is a fascinating story of one person's ability to make a difference-globally.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brundtland was a fixture in Norwegian politics for 22 years. She twice served as prime minister, her final tenure from 1986 to 1996, and also served as leader of the socialist Labor Party. As she recounts here, while prime minister she crossed paths and occasionally swords with her influential contemporaries: Reagan, Bush and Clinton; Gorbachev and Yeltsin; Margaret Thatcher and John Major; and Nelson Mandela. Her familiarity with these leaders, her surprisingly worldwide political profile and her feminist worldview create an enlightening autobiography that offers a European perspective on key international issues, including nuclear weapons and disarmament, the environment and economic development. More novel to American readers than her European perspective is Brundtland's socialist politics and her views on the responsibilities of government. The extremely detailed descriptions of Norwegian politics and politicians, however, will sometimes overwhelm non-Norwegians. The last chapters deal with Brundtland's successful campaign to be Director General of the U.N.'s World Health Organization and her analysis of world health problems. The writing style is plain and direct, virtually devoid of even modest rhetorical devices. But she is thoughtful, straightforward and unflinching, even when describing heartbreaking family tragedies. There are occasional flashes of self-deprecatory humor and much introspection. The overall effect is to create a sense of intimacy between Brundtland and readers, who will find her a remarkable woman, open about the development of her political philosophy and, within the bounds of her natural reticence, about her personal life. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.
